Shows of Love
by LoveLoveLovix
Summary: When a book gets Weiss's tongue, she learns not to judge a cat by her cover. Or something like that. Part ten of the Pink Chronicles.


"Caught you."

Weiss sucked in a gasp and shoved the book she was reading under her pillow with lightning speed. She then looked up into the dark eyes of Blake Belladonna. "I don't know _what _you're talking about," she snapped, trying to position the novel so that her place would be held by something other than her fingers. When that failed, she relied on her overly-sensitive sense of touch to find her neatly folded nightgown and use it as a temporary bookmark, all the while glaring daggers into her teammate.

Blake gave a lopsided smile and pulled Weiss's pillow off the bed, revealing a black and red book. The title _Ninjas of Love_ was written in an exotic font, eyes glared on the cover, and the pages were almost fanned out from a broken binding... obviously from someone reading and rereading the story tens, if not hundreds, of times. "I knew someone had been reading my books because they aren't in order anymore. Of course, after the Cardin Winchester incident... I didn't really expect it would be _you._"

"I found it on Ruby's bed!" Weiss said. Maybe she shouldn't have been passing the blame onto her girlfriend, but Ruby wouldn't mind. She never did. She was too good to Weiss, really. Anyway, Ruby wasn't one to get embarrassed like this! The tall, boyish redhead was confident and versatile. Maybe a little ditzy, maybe a little silly, but she was still able to accept things and move on. Things stuck with Weiss. She remembered every single moment she wasn't perfect, and they haunted her, causing her breath to hitch in the most terrible of ways and her heart to feel like it was turning on her, planning to beat so hard that she would die from it. Maybe lying wasn't _nice, _but neither was the Schnee heiress, and she knew that Ruby would understand.

Blake, however, was a different story. "Ruby doesn't read these. She gets weird anytime someone talks about people other than you two kissing. And you and I both know that there's a lot more than that in those books."

"Fine, you're right!" Weiss said quickly, angrily. "I'm reading them. So what, just because they're fiction doesn't mean they aren't _good._"

"They really _aren't _good," Blake said. She smiled. "That doesn't mean you can't like them, though."

The pale-haired woman crossed her arms and stood up from the bed. "Excuse me? These novels definitely have their merits! No, the writing isn't anything to be proud of, but the characterization..."

"Who's your favorite?"

Weiss wasn't quite sure why she stopped mid-rant to consider it. However, that is exactly what she did. "Hime," she admitted after a second.

Blake snorted. "She would."

"What's meant by that, Belladonna?"

The faunus girl raised her hands in submission. "Hey, I just meant you two are a lot alike. If she's really your favorite, you should take that as a compliment. Anyway, isn't Ruby a lot like Hoshi?"

Weiss had noticed that too.

Blake reached for the book, then drew her hand back. "So, uh, well... you can finish it, if you want."

Every bit of Weiss was screaming "_**LET HER TAKE IT, SHOW HER YOU DON'T EVEN CARE, DON'T LET HER KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF IT!" **_but she was only halfway through and she couldn't have that... and besides, she did care. She cared a lot.

If Ruby had taught her anything, it was that sometimes it was okay to care.

"I'll return it when I'm done, then," she sniffed. "Thank you, I suppose."

Blake narrowed her eyes and looked about ready to say something. All she did say, though, was "Give it back to me when you finish. Don't put it back on the shelf. You always do it wrong, and besides, I want to give you some fanfiction to read after you're done, to make the ending a little better. Nobody likes the ending."

"Fanfiction?"

"Uh, it's like... unofficial add-ons to the story. Written by fans." Blake went as pink as the insides of her ears. "I write some. Just a little bit."

"Fine," Weiss said.

Blake took a deep breath and headed for the door. "See you later, princess. Enjoy."

"Wait, Blake!" The words were out of Weiss's mouth before she could stop them.

The cat girl turned. "What is it?"

Weiss blushed and looked at the floor. "You said... this was months ago, when I was planning to go on a date with Cardin, remember... you said that you should never trust a romance novel. That they... that they aren't very realistic."

"Yeah?"

"Does that mean that two girls can't work out as well as Hime and Hoshi?" she asked, her voice very, very small.

Blake's expression softened and she walked back to Weiss. "That's different. That's not about realistic and unrealistic. Love is never realistic, really. Whether you and Ruby work out is up to you."

"Up to me?" Weiss squeaked.

The other woman sighed and shook her head. "Not just you. Both of you. But I've been talking to Yang and she's been telling me about you two..." Weiss frowned and Blake echoed the motion. "Don't even give me that, it's not like it's a secret that you and her go out for coffee every so often to discuss how you and Ruby are doing... and she says Ruby is completely in love with you and she's not planning on leaving any time soon."

"Neither am I!" Weiss protested. "Why would you even _suggest _such a thing?"

"Because making it sound like you would gets you defensive. If I said I doubted you'd break up with her, you'd start thinking about it just to spite me. You're that kind of person."

"I would never!" Weiss protested automatically.

Blake noticed and smirked. "Exactly, princess. I don't want Ruby to have to deal with your shit."

_Neither do I. She deals with enough of my issues as is. I can't give her more to deal with, I really couldn't. _

"I have no intention of hurting her," Weiss said stiffly, trying to conceal the many feelings inside her... all her hatred of herself, all of her love for Ruby.

"Yeah, you better not," Blake said, but then she softened again. "All I'm saying is that she'll never hurt you. So yeah, Weiss. Whether or not you and Ruby will work out is probably up to you. Now, I'm out. Remember to give me _Ninjas_ back when you finish."

"I didn't ask if Ruby and I would work, I just asked if girls..." Weiss protested, but Blake was already gone.

And besides, even if the faunus hadn't answered the question Weiss posed, she had answered the question in Weiss's heart.

For the first time since being caught with the book, Weiss smiled a little.


End file.
